Brush moistener



Nov. 2, 1954 A. c. HUMMEL BRUSH MOISTENER IN VEN TOR.

AT1 o usvs.

Unite States Patent O BRUSH MOISTENER August C. Hummel, Cincinnati, Ohio Application November 6, 1951, Serial No. 255,075

1 Claim. (Cl. 118-264) My invention relates to a brush moistener of the type which is used for moistening adhesive coated paper labels or gumnied tape and wherein the article to` be moistened is passed between a guide and the wet ends of the.series of.

bristles forming the brush. A moistcner of this type is shown in my copending application, Serial No. 148,535, filed March 9, 1950, now Patent No. 2,575,495, issued November 20, 1951, and entitled Brush Moistener.

Inasmuch as the actual moistening action is created bythe wiping of the brush end across the gummed surface, and since the guide under which the tape is run presses the surface to be moistened against the brush end, it is sometimes beneficial to regulate the pressure between the brush end and the guide in order to increase or decrease the wiping action on the gummed tape.

Heretofore moisteners of this type wherein the tape guide rested against the ends of the bristles of the brush controlled the pressure of the guide against the brush by means of the weight of the cover alone and in the event it was desirable to increase this pressure, the hand of the operator had to be pressed against the lid or cover to force the guide downward against the spring of the brush. Such a device is shown in my copending patent application, Serial No. v148,535 referred to above. When the hand is used to increase the pressure as suggested above, the pressure is not constant but varies in accordance with the pressure exerted and, of course, when the hand is removed, the cover swings upwardly and the only pressure is the result of the weight of the cover.

It is an object of my invention to provide a moistening brush of the type discussed above wherein the pressure of the guide against the brush end may be adjusted in conformity with the desires of the operator, and wherein this pressure after adjustment may be maintained without the necessity of touching or pressing the cover of the moistener during its operation.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a moistener having the above features, but which is very easy to adjust as to change of pressure from very light to great by a simple, easy manipulation.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device which may be incorporated into moisteners at pres ent on the market without a great arid expensive change, but with complete eiciency as to the results desired.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forth hereinafter, or Will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading these specifications, I accomplish by that certain construction and arrangement of parts of which I shall now describe an exemplary embodiment. Reference is now made to the drawings which form a part thereof and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my novel moistener.

FigureZ is a vertical cross section taken on the section line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial Vcross-section similar to Figure 2 With the guide and lead in a lowered position.

Figure 4 is a partial cross-section taken on the section line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective of a portion of the side of the cover taken from the section line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an enlarged section somewhat similar to Figure 4 showing a modification of the cover locking device.

Briey, in the practice of my invention, I provide a brush which is backed up or stiffened by means of a ICCA spring plate at one side and which is positioned within a container so that the brass portion yof `the brush'is held against flexing toward the side which carries Vthe spring backing plate. The end of the spring backing plate and the bristles of the brush project slightly above the Atop of the container, but do not rest against the top edge of the container so that the brush bristles and backing plate may be llexed. The cover consists of the conventional flat surface pintled at one side, together with a portion slightly spaced away from the surface to form a slot under which the material to be moistenedmay be run. This portion acts as a guide for the tape or material being treated and it is thisportion which bears againstl the moist end ofthe bristles of the brush which in turn are backed up by the free end of the spring backing plate. Such a construction is shown in my copending application, Serial No. 148,535 referred to above.

In the present instance, I provide the cover portion with a downwardly projecting ange or side which slips within the container walls. As the cover is manually forced downwardly, the pressure of the guide against the brush end and backing plate increases and the bristles and backingY plate lex and increase the pressure against the guide in accordance with the spring or give of the brush and backing plate. This flexing action is possible because the bristle ends and the end of the backing plate are free and do not abut against an edge of the container which would prevent this exing action.

In order to maintain the desired flexing action or pressure'after it has once been manually forced to the desired degree, I provide a lock which in my exemplary embodiment comprises a thumb screw mounted through the side walls of the container and with their ends bearing against the surface of the side or flange of the cover. between the thumb screw end and the ange, l prererably serrate or score' the portion vof the ange in the area contacted by the thumb screw end.'

From the above, it is apparent that the desired pressure may be given by pushing the cover downwardly with the fingers and then while in the desired position tightening the thumb screws.

Referring to the drawings, I provide a container 1 having upstanding side walls 2. Within the container is positioned the bristle brush 3 with its base 4 adjacent the bottom of the container. Abutments 5 and 6 are provided which hold the brush 3 in a tilted position with the bristle ends 7 projecting up out of the container 1.

The brush 3 is backed by a resilient plate 8 which is preferably made of spring bronze .and the abutments 5v and 6 so hold the base 4 that the bristle ends 7 and the end of the plate 8 are free and out of contact with any portion of the container 1 so they may be tlexed at will. A bracket 9 may be incorporated in the base 4 to maintain the brush 3 Within the abutments 5 and 6 and in the position shown in Figure 2.

The cover 10 is positioned Within the walls 2 of the container 1 and has a downwardly projecting flange or side wall 11. Pintles 12 running through the wall 2 and the ends of the rside walls 11 hinge the cover 10 within the container 1.

Near the forward or free end of the cover 10 is a slot 13 and the remaining portion of the` cover forms the guide 14. The guide 14 may be slightly curved as shown in the drawings and, if desirable, spaced slightly above the flat portion of the cover 10 as shown to assist in threading the tape under the guide 14.

The cover 10 is so positioned in reference to the container 1 that the guide portion 14 rests against the bristle ends 7 and the end of the spring backing plate 8 (see Figure 2) in normal position. In this position, the pressure on the brush end 7 is purely a result of the weight of the cover 10.

When it is desired to increase the pressure between the brush end 7 and the guide 14, the cover 10 may be manually forced downwardly as shown in Figure 3. This flexes the brush 3 and its backing plate 8, so that the deflection of the brush and backing plate 8 deter- Plaiented Nev, 2, i954 In order to increase the frictional engagement.

3 mines the pressure against the underside of the guide portion 14 depending on the amount of exing attained.

In order to hold the cover in its set position, I provide thumb screws 15 which are screwed through the sides 2 with their ends contactable with the flange or side 11 of the cover 10. I preferably serrate this spot 16 on the flange 11 as shown in Figure 5.y

While I have shown a thumb screw 15 in both the side walls 2 of the container 1it may be desirable, particularly when the cover 1t) is formed of relatively rigid material, to use only one thumbyscrew 15 and such a construction is within the contemplation of my invention. As an alternative, I may provide a projection 17 outwardly from the ange or side 11 and place serrations or indentations 18 on the inner side of the side walls 2 as shown in Figure 6.

From the above it is apparent that by pressing down the cover 10 against the natural resilience of the brush 3 and the backing plate 8, the pressure of the brush tip 7 against the underside of the guide 14 will be increased and any pressure within the limits of the specific brush may be maintained by tightening the thumb screws 15. Or in the event of the modication shown in Figure 6, the projections 17 will frictionally engage the serrations 18 and hold the cover 1.0 in the position to which it is forced.

While in Figure 1 I have shown the slot 13 as ending before the margin or edge of the cover 10 is reached, it is to be understood that, if desirable, the slot 13 may be carried all the way out to one edge as is well-known in this art to permit the insertion of envelope aps and the like between the guide 14 and the brush end 7.

From the above it is apparent that I have provided a moistener which provides tension from the bottom or lower side as well as the top side and hence which permits the operator to regulate the pressure between the guide and the brush end and lock the same by means of the adjustment screw or screws. Once the cover is locked in the desired position, this pressure is maintained during the moistening operation without any other manipulation or adjustment of the cover.

It is to be understood that modication may be made if in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof and I do not intend to limit myself otherwise than as pointed out in the claim which follows.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A moistener `comprising a fluid container within which is positioned a moistening brush having its bristles projecting upwardly at an angle to one of the container walls, an abutment extending upwardly from the bottom of the container for supporting said moistening brush in spaced relation to the said wall of the container whereby said brush may be excd without contacting the said container wall, said moistening brush including a resilient backing plate contacted by said abutment for flexibly supporting said brush out of contact with the said wall of the container, a cover hinged to the container adjacent the end thereof opposite the said wall and including a guide at the end thereof adjacent the said wall, 'said guide being displaceable upwardly from the plane of said cover whereby a length of tape to be moistened may be passed therebeneath, said guide contacting the upper end of said moistening brush, and means for selectively maintaining said cover in different posi tions to apply pressure to said brush to displace the bristles thereof in the direction of the resilient backing plate, whereby to flex said backing plate to press against said brush thereby increasing the How of moistening liquid to the tip of the brush.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date y 2,016,216 Pike v Oct. 1, 1935 2,035,374 Phillips ..g Mar. 24, 1936 2,035,375 Phillips Mar. 24, 1936 2,209,266 Goldstein July 23, 1940 2,490,939 Aldrich A.-. v Dec. 13, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 426,458 Great Britain 1--.. Apr. 3, 1935 

